My dog is grieving/depressed at "mommy's" death

[Alliegirl]

Hi, This is my first post, and I want to know if anyone has any thoughts about my dog, who is an English Pointer (seems purebred) that we found by a dumpster as a 9 week old 15 months ago. Our beagle mix "raised" her, and was the mom and dominant of the two. Allie has always been almost too friendly with people, extremely friendly though submissive with other dogs, fun loving, puppyish and delightful, if extremely energetic (unleashed walks in the woods helped with that). She slept in our bed with her mom, and I've been a stay at home mom, so she had me around tons, too. She loved my 3 kids and husband, but Lucy was #1, me #2 pal. A week after Lucy's death ( our poor dear had a bony tumor on her head that had grown from a tiny bump to tennis ball size and finally metastisized and we had to put her to sleep), Allie is a new dog, terrified of people, dogs, running free, and just about everything else. She hides under my bed (quite a tight squeeze!!) unless it's just us in the house, or myself and my youngest son. She is definitely totally depressed. Any clues about how to "resocialize" her, other than very slowly and with tons of effort and attention? I need help!
Ev

[poodlesmom]

I am so sorry to hear of the loss of Lucy!

Allie is going thru what alot of our furpals do when a housemate, whether skin or fur, is lost. You have hit the nail on the head when you said, "other than very slowly and with tons of effort and attention?" Being a young pup when you got her she formed a strong bond with Lucy and as you noticed you & your family were next in line. I would suggest spending time with her working on obedience training, even if she is well-trained already. Perhaps even some agility training, even if it is in your own back yard. This will help increase her bonding with you and pull her attention away from her loss. She has lost her sense of security and it will take some time for her to realize that she still has it in you & your family. Don't force her to socialize but rather give her plenty of opportunities to and let her go at her own pace while being quite "matter of fact" about it yourself. She'll eventually pick up from you that you aren't concerned so she has no need to be fearful of it either.

Good luck with Allie & again I am sorry about your loss of Lucy. I am sure other members will have some great suggestions for you to help Allie.